Pedro Pascal (source: Mark Tomaras, imdb.com), Gina Carano (from Deadpool, source: imdb.com)
Lucasfilm has revealed the main cast for Star Wars live-action series scheduled for 2019. “The Mandalorian”, set on the wild outskirts of the Galaxy, will focus on the story of a lone gunfighter (or not so much alone, it seems).
So who are the stars? The main role has been already known for some time to belong to Pedro Pascal. Sufficient to say, recalling Pedro Pascal’s performance as the Red Viper in Game of Thrones, I have no problem imagining him as a warrior from an honourable culture like the Mandalorians are.
The other roles so far didn’t get names attached to them, but we can speculate. The next name on the list is Gina Carano (appeared in Deadpool, otherwise also known for her MMA fighting career). She could easily play any badass warrior, even another Mandalorian. And before somebody says it, no, I don’t think she would play Sabine Wren from Rebels. Depending on the time the story is set in (sometime between episodes VI and VII), Sabine might be in such an age category that Carano could play her, but personally, I think Sabine might be older and, if she even appears, would rather be the behind-the-scenes mentor figure than (what it seems like) a second lead character.
Speaking of mentor figures, next on the list – Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) – may be a good candidate for a role like that. Depending on how much we can expect classic archetypes to appear, having some mentor figure might make sense.
Emily Swallow (photo by Riker Brothers, imdb.com)
Emily Swallow (recently in Supernatural, also the voice of Lisa Tepes in Castlevania) is a different cup of tea. She could provide a contrast to Carano’s character, perhaps a more “civilian”-type character – but also maybe not.
Another name that caught my eye is Carl Weathers (from Predator – the dude who, in the opening scene, had a handshake with Arnold Schwarzenegger turned into arm-wresling match). This is another hot candidate for an old warrior mentor figure. Or perhaps a villain.
Omid Abtahi at 2016 WonderCon (photo: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons)
Omid Abtahi (American Gods, Hunger Games), Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) and Nick Nolte (Affliction) complete the cast list. Especially Nick Nolte, with his complexion, looks like he could play a Mandalorian related to the clans from The Clone Wars – or perhaps a villainous descendant of Gar Saxon’s bunch from Star Wars Rebels. I am also curious whether we might see, for instance, Sabine Wren’s brother Tristan – for that, one of the younger actors in the list could also be a good pick.
Nick Nolte in 2000 in Cannes (photo by Rita Molnár, Wikimedia Commons)
Aside from the news about actors, Lucasfilm has also confirmed the names of some of the episode directors, including Deborah Chow (who has worked, among others, on Jessica Jones or Fear the Walking Dead), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates) and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok). The whole series is written and officially produced by Jon Favreau, with the help of Dave Filoni (SW: The Clone Wars, SW: Rebels, SW: Resistance).
All in all, I daresay The Mandalorian is shaping up as something to look forward to. If you want to learn more about the series and about the Mandalorians, you can read about it in one of my earlier articles here.
